If I was Hanzee, a lifetime of being referred to as “Your Indian” or “The Indian” would be enough on it’s own to send me over the edge.
Does the following sound familiar?
My name is Hanzee. Not The Halfbreed. Not The Mongrel. Not The Indian.
“Dodd is always Dodd. Bear is always Bear and Rye is always Rye. You never call Dodd “Stretch”. You never call Bear “Big Guy” and you never call Rye “Pipsqueak”. My name is “Hanzee”. You got that? It’s Hanzee. I want to be called “Hanzee”. You should call me “Hanzee”. You got that? I don’t want to be called Mongrel or Half Breed.”
If that speech sounds somewhat familiar, I plagerized it from Tootsie. Remember? Dustin Hoffman finally had enough of being called “Sweetie” or “Dear” or “Tootsie” and he told them. But Dabney Coleman wasn’t listening. If Tootsie had some guns in it, I think Dustin would have shot Dabney right on the spot. Right between the eyes. Of course, Tootsie wasn’t that kind of movie.
This season is just dynamite television. Two obvious references to the movie: “We’re goin’ crazy out there at the lake”, and banging on the TV because of the snowy reception. Can’t say enough good things about this show; they’re going to need a truck to haul away the Emmys.
I just watched the most recent episode again last night and there were several other small references to the movie. In total, I’m guessing there have been more than ten of them this season. Darn! I should have written them down.
I’m going to start writing them down now and at the end of this season, I will post the list here.
I am re-watching the episodes, and noticed something odd in episode 2: a shot of Peggy sitting on the basement steps, before leaving for work, just thinking, but it is the same scene (wearing the same blue blouse) from the most recent episode, where she is sitting on the steps while Dodd is tied up in the basement. I wouldn’t have noticed it without seeing the two episodes back to back. After this scene in Ep#2, she talks to Ed (who is sitting outside the garage, planning to clean the Rye mess up) before heading to work, wearing something different. Not knowing much about the characters then, it didn’t seem odd that she chose that spot for contemplation. I don’t know why it was spliced in.
I wasn’t really sure I wanted to devote this much time to watching them again, but I am getting much more from the story in retrospect. And it looks like Fargo outside in my neighborhood, so indoors on the couch is a good place to be anyway.
Those stacks of magazines in the basement bother me, because I can’t see how a woman as young as Peggy could have accumulated so many. It looked like ten or twenty six-feet high stacks of magazines. I wonder if Ed’s mother also hoarded old magazines in the same way.
By the way, did you know that Kirsten Dunst starred in a movie that was about “The Jinx”?
At least that was the name of an HBO mini-series about the life of Robert Durst, generally referred to as simply The Jinx.
The movie (not the HBO mini-series) was called “All Good Things (2010)”. I’m not sure it specifcally referred to Durst. But the plot was very similar to his life.
Kirsten was quite good in the movie. It had a great cast. But it left me feeling a little let down. I’m not sure why.
Anyway, your name just got me remembering that movie and I thought you might be interested.
As far as Kirsten goes, who would have ever imagined when this season started that Peggy would turn out to be the meanest, toughest and most badass criminal of them all. If this Season took place in the 1930s, I’m guessing Peggy would have moved to Chicago and bumped off Al Capone and she would have taken over the Chicago Mob. She certainly has the qualifications for that. I wouldn’t mess with her. That’s for sure. After all, Hanzee took out Dodd and Peggy then took out Hanzee. For all those people who thought Hanzee was tough, he certainly met his match when he walked in on Peggy and Ed.
I began to rewatch the latest episode as well and … as Ed and Peggy are in the process of fleeing the cabin, Peggy tells Ed words to the effect, “I now know exactly what to do. I now understand everything.” Ed is helping Peggy into the car and he says to her, “That’s good Hon. Now watch your head.” I wonder if that reminded anyone else of that old Bob Dylan lyric, “Don’t follow leaders. Watch your parking meters.”
Like millions of other Americans, Peggy seemed to be suckered into that British man (maybe the founder of EST?). But Ed was more practical. He didn’t care. He wasn’t going to pay out his money to some nefarious organization. He wasn’t going to waste his time or his money to follow some leader. He had his eye on the prize and told Peggy to just focus on what she was doing at the moment (to be careful of her head).
Ironic that Peggy talked about understanding the importance of being who she wanted to be instead of thinking about that person or talking about her. But, it was Ed who truly acted in the moment (by telling Peggy to watch her head). Seems like a strange irony to me. But still, wonderful television. If this show doesn’t win every Emmy there is, then we should just realize the Emmies are pointless and maybe it’s time to find another standard in quality TV.
The seminar that Peggy wanted to attend was for Lifespring, a new age/self-actualization group back then. In the late 1980s, or maybe very early in the 1990s, I went back to my old college to visit a couple of friends who were still in school. One of them had just returned from a trip to Washington DC, where he had participated in a seminar that involved being yelled at a lot. I said, “That sounds just like a cult.” When I got home, I did some research and contacted the Cult Awareness Network. They sent me a pile of literature on Lifespring, which is the group my friend went to.
I know what you mean about the Emmy situation. Justified (2010–2015) – the most recent TV show to rival Fargo (for me anyway) didn’t do all that well at the Emmy grab bag (2 according to that link) but it was among the Top Ten (All Time) shows for me personally. I hope Fargo can improve on their track record but it won’t matter to me as long as they just keep 'em coming!
On the IMDb Charts Top Rated TV Shows last year’s Fargo is #28, so that’s a good sign for this year’s version. It is hard to compare the two seasons’ impact, but they’re both so far ahead of the competition that it’s almost obscene!
Well Zeldar, at least you can take some small satisfaction from the fact that based on your enthusiasm and reccomendation, I will now give Justified another try. I tried it a few months ago but didn’t really love it for some reason. But I will try it again now.
I also should say that someone in this forum (sorry I forget who) was very enthusiastic about Longmire. So, I tried it again and it was very satisfying. It was a Western but it wasn’t a silly Western like so many are (with the stellar exception of Deadwood). I really liked Longmire. The plots were highly reasonable. They were not just silly like so many other shows. Anyone who might be interested in some adventures in Wyoming or other parts nearby might enjoy this one.
Oh, yes. Very sorry. I got confused with The Americans. I should not have slighted Lifespring in order to make my point about Ed and Peggy (even it it might have been warranted). There was no reason for me to have done that. I could have made my point without doing that.
I apologize and will try not to do that in the future. Seriously. I’m glad you didn’t seem to be offended. But I’m guessing some other people were.
OMG! I just examined that list and it is far more complete than I had ever hoped for. There was so many similarities. I wonder why?
I think there is one very powerful message from the show runner this season and that message is as follows (just my opinon).
At this time, it is really just ridiculous to demonstrate prejudice and/or bias against people based on their race or their gender or a whole bunch of other things. We may feel that way about others. But we really should keep those things to ourselves. There is little place for them in public and the show runner has been going to great pains to drive that lesson home … in some very painful ways. So often this season, the worst offenders of the expression of those addtiudes pay the most painful price.
Dodd just couldn’t keep his mouth and the more he ran his mouth, the closer he came to taking painful beatings and ultimately getting shot in the head by his own half-brother (I think it’s been established that Hanzee and Dodd were half brothers. Weren’t they?)
It’s just not wise to call your brother a “half-breed” or a “mongrel” and it’s a terrible idea to smack your children around and to call them demeaning names. Dodd may have been shaped by his own terrible father. But he sure turned out to be one miserable human being. And I mean “miserable” it both senses of the word. Everyone seemed to want him dead. Either as their main objective or a secondary objective.
“Hello Simone. What do you want for Christmas this year?”
“Well, I’d like a pound of weed.” Oh! and also … could you kill my father please?